#ooor I could do an event

[artist-heart83]

I remember one night being so pissed about the idea of Boopkins being initially a Spike because: “of all the fucking Mario character they chose one that I don’t remember seeing underwater what the hell” yeah I overthink stuff, specially when don’t make sense

Like for the fankids (talking about the adopted kids) I have reason of why they look like that or just the theme

Example Hinata, with her I have to figure out how her design not human form would look like or have the concept of what she is supposed to be. The idea ~fish~ from Mario, following the idea of Boopkins original form; I choose a Cheep Cheep because I couldn’t find something and done!

only to when I finished her design remember the mermaids from Mario Odyssey fucking god I hate myself sometimes

Same goes to Gemma, which is a gerudo because Bob original design is from Zelda, a garo, so yeah everything is connected

Wait what I was talking about… OH YEAH!

So I went to the wikipedia to see if there was an explanation (considering that they are directs and stuff, come on the series is 13 years old, there must be a lot of information (also when I read Smg3 and Axol trivia sections I found some interesting information that changed everything)), for none surprise I found it

Now I don’t know what is Luke referring to, like, he mean good fish characters in the mario series or in general?

I mean obviously you visualize a fish, because Boopkins first appearance was in a underwater adventure you know and his name is Fishy and dad is an octopus and then he brother is a duck and LISTEN GET THE IDEA THAT EVERYONE OF THE FAMILY IS RELATED TO WATER BECAUSE THAT FUCKING FAMILY TREE IS ANOTHER DEAL AND I NOT FINDING A EXPLANATION TO THAT, GOOD? GOOD

[star2fishmeg]

quinn and 178 since that's how he looks all the time

Thank you for requesting <3

SCENARIO #178 We both don't want to be here

📞 dialling…

Sometimes being Captain was great and gave Quinn a sense of fulfilment and responsibility. He had a team of guys who believed in him and relied on him, their leader for success and looking after them. Other times, he wished he could be a rookie all over again, so he’d be void of so much weight on his shoulders. Like now, when he’d arrived at the press event two hours ago and had enough of his suit, answering questions, talking about the same things but worded differently and being asked those outright stupid questions that stumped him speechless. 

He swirled the liquid in his drink, head resting in his hand as he enjoyed having a few moments of peace before he jumped back into the jungle. His stomach sank slightly when he felt a presence slip onto the stool next to him. 

“Well don’t you look handsome tonight?” she purred, watching him sit up straight. He failed to bite back his smile, that uncontrollable giddiness running through him like he was a teenager again.

Y/n hadn’t joined the Canucks team long after Quinn, while he finished his time in Michigan earlier to join the professional league, she’d completed school entirely and then landed a job in the Canucks social department. They weren’t complete strangers, she and Quinn had been friends during university, friends who definitely could’ve been more if they’d had enough time.

“You never fail to impress either, even at your first event. You looked gorgeous. Still do.” He grinned, taking the final sip of his drink before turning towards her. He remembered it crystal clear. Her hair was styled perfectly with cute little clips that shimmered under the lights, an outfit that hugged her curves and her skin glowed, not an ounce of nerves in sight but amongst the crowd, she still looked for him. Seeing her then brought back a plethora of UMICH memories at once, from orientation, their first interaction at Yost when she held the door for him, to the first party they attended all the way through to his last day, where they bawled their eyes out outside gates and kissed with tear-stained cheeks and bittersweet smiles. 

“Oh, stop it, you flatter me,” she leant closer, Quinn’s ears tinting furiously pink, and she tucked a long, loose strand of his hair back, “I remember that event too. You still cut your hair short, had your baby face and fumbled over your words when I said hi. But I still found you cute as the day I met you.”

His chest rumbled as he chuckled with embarrassment and he glanced around the venue, not a journalist or manager in sight, all occupied by his teammates, “This is the least exciting part of going pro, if I’ve answered the same question once, I’ve answered it hundreds of times. Bed sounds really nice right now. Anywhere sounds better than here right now.”

“I agree with you there, when I saw you sitting like you were gonna kill somebody, you have no idea how relieved I was.” Y/n slumped into the bar, her gaze meeting Quinn’s. How she missed that look, his face, his voice. Looking around the venue, she turned back to him, a smirk across her lips, “Wanna ditch this joint?”

“I do not look like that,” Quinn protested, scoffing playfully. He wasn’t thinking like a Captain anymore, being with her again, alone at a bar turned the clock back to being in the kitchen of some frat party, Deja vu of discussing where they should sneak off to since they’d become tired of the noise, the people. Quinn slid off his stool, standing above y/n and taking her hands into his, relishing in the way they still fit perfectly, the way her entrance just straight-up shifted his mood and now he was excited, “but we could make out in the bathrooms, that’s sounds like fun.” 

“Ooor,” she hopped off her stool, pulling his arms around her to set his hands on her hips before sliding her palms up his chest, neck craning to peer up at him with a wild glaze in her eyes, his favourite kind of frisky, half-lidded look that lit a fire inside him, triggered his raging adrenaline, “you could take me on that arcade date you owe me from, what? Four? Five years ago? And then we could head back to mine and make out?” 

Quinn Hughes didn’t need to say anything for her to lead him out the back door, the pair giggling like rebellious teenagers with hands grasped in each other’s and their inner university selves finally having the opportunity to live wildly and freely as they ran through the car park to her car. This time they’d be leaving together, even a Captain needed a break once in a while.

[casualaruanienjoyer]

post war Jeanpiku?

Hello anon! Thank you for requesting something so tasty!😭 I love Jeanpiku. I've not writted Pieck so I hope I can nail it!

Anyway, onwards!!

Sharing a bed

Jean and Pieck bicker often. So often, in fact, that their tents at Fort Salta couldn't be further apart.

It's only been a couple of weeks since the rumbling and things were still looking pretty unstable around Fort Salta. Armin, now commander, was tasked with organizing everything from resources to communication. They would do manual labour during the day, and meetings late in the evenings.

Jean was Armin's right hand, and he was there to support him no matter what. But tonight there is no meeting.

The catastrophic events of the rumbling had affected the weather, making it extremely unpredictable. Today was one of those days.

The rainfall was short but heavy enough to damage some tents. Armin and Muller decided it would be best to sort out the issue during daylight, so everyone was asked to form groups and share some of the intact tents for the night.

This is why, unfortunately, Jean is now stuck between a snoring Connie and a smirking Pieck. His tent never felt this small before. They had to push two makeshift mattresses together to fit the three of them, and even so it was still very much shoulder to shoulder. Fortunately for Jean, Connie fell asleep the moment he hit the mattress. At least he didn't have to deal with him tonight. Unfortunately, he has other problems.

Jean rests on his back, eyes fixed on the ceiling of their tent. His back feels stiff and he cannot relax for the life of him.

"Look, don't get too cosy in here, alright?" Jean is uncomfortable. Not that those shitty mattresses were ever comfortable to begin with, but at least before all this he had his own space. -Personal- space. Which is now breached by an intruder.

"Aw but Jean, I'm just trying to relax a bit" Pieck teases him. She's resting on her side, awfully close to him.

"Remind me again WHY you had to pick OUR tent to sleep in?" Jean groaned. "Why couldn't you pick Annie's?"

"She's sharing it with her dad, and his reduced mobility means he needs the extra space" she shifts to rest her head in her palm, elbow digging into her pillow. "Besides, I think we need to work on -us- a bit, you know?"

"What does -that- mean?!" He hisses at her, but keeps his voice low. He really doesn't want to deal with two pricks tonight.

"You know, I feel like you don't really like me. And I want to know why". Pieck's hair cascades over her shoulders, and Jean avoids looking at her visible cleavage.

It's not that he didn't like Pieck. After all these years, Jean still didn't know how to approach girls he had a crush on. Yes, Pieck is, unfortunately, exactly his type. Long, black hair, soft eyes and a nice figure. But unlike Mikasa, who was stoic and level-headed, Pieck was seriously driving him nuts: cunning, mysterious and above all, a seductive devil.

She knew exactly what she was doing every time she teased him around camp and every time she tried to hug him tightly. She's manipulative and Jean has no idea how to deal with women like her.

Every other girl he met in the military had always been very righteous, disciplined, well maybe except for Sasha. Pieck is a mystery to him. An alien.

"You're making it very hard for me to like you, quite frankly" he crosses his arms over his chest, sighing. "There's nothing to talk about, we should sleep."

"Ooor, you could tell me what I could do to make you feel more comfortable around me~". She whispers in a low purr, tucking some hair behind her ear.

"First of all, stop that. You always overdo it" Jean manages to look at her, trying to remain calm. But even in the dark she looks so beautiful that he can't help but blush.

"Overdo what, exactly?"

"Y-your flirting. It's not elegant at all." He mutters, looking back up at the ceiling. It's so much easier to talk when her face isn't a distraction.

Pieck's eyes widen. "Flirting? Me? With you??". But her tone is playful.

"Look, if you want something just tell me. I don't enjoy being teased. And I certainly don't like girls who play with my feelings" he shifts, uncomfortable. Now he's done it.

"Is that what you think of me...?" Pieck whispers, sounding somewhat sad.

"Well, you're confusing, that's for sure." He pauses, measuring his words. "Look...guys like girls that are direct." He sighs. "How am I supposed to know if your flirting is genuine or not-?"

"Kiss me"

Jean blinks. Once, twice. His face reddens.

"What?!"

"You want me to be direct? I can be. So kiss me." She whispers, pointing at her lips.

This can't be real.

"Pieck, I swear, if this is another one of your games-"

"Jean, I know you like me"

Silence. Utter silence. Jean wishes he could disappear.

"W-what makes you think that?!"

"You're not very good at hiding it, you know?" She laughs softly.

Jean closed his eyes, thinking of of all the choices that led to this very moment. All the times he found himself glancing her way. The times where they worked together day and night. The way she made him feel like he was falling in love again. He was already a lost cause, might as well go for it, right? "And what if I do?"

"Then kiss me"

💜This fic is now also on AO3 !

[withered-rose-unbreakable-lotus]

I've never seen a band on hiatus acting so not on hiatus as Alice Nine xD. I've seen several bands do the hiatus thingy and sure there will be times you see the members trying new things with the support of another member, for example Asagi worked with Hiroki for his new release and while in D, for a solo song he had Hide Zou on guitar. But honey, Alice Nine are like still being a band that just happens to release solo stuff right and left. Every few weeks either they will have another member support them ooor they will have events featuring each other's solos.

For example, when they started kay? Shou worked with Tora for his first video. Then Hiroto offered Nao to go on an FC tour with him and Nao was surprised. And then there was a show that Hiroto would do and he asked him support and poor Nao was like really? I didn't think you'd want me to come. xD That show was either before or after the FC I don't remember. Maybe it was Hiroto's bday. Anyway yeah Nao thought that because they'd already worked once together in the year, that he'd invite Tora over this time and he couldn't come cause like it's Alice Nine all over again I'm guessing, I dunno why he thought Hiroto couldn't invite both. Your show your rules. And then Nao had a solo live and called Tora join him, and now Shou and Hiroto got a two man live that also Takeru will perform at and....i always forget his name but another known dude. Honestly if Saga wasn't working on his own project behind the scenes he'd be doing that too, if his content was already out and all. They all know other musicians, they could have had aaaal this stuff with other friends of theirs but no, you can see how attached they are and it's so cute. <3

[hug-milestones]

The fool I am

ooh the fool I am…

earlier today, I realized that I had gotten to 1000 hugs and I was going to make a post here on TUMBLR.COM/BLOG/HUG-MILESTONES celebrating the fact that we (i) reached this goal. I had forgotten to do as such for some time but I eventually made a post and the missed posts I needed to do before the main event and I made a huge fuss about it within the tags.... but as it turns out, when I got hugged by my lovely GAY boyfriend (or by my lovely ex, I can't really remember, they both make me very happy), I had went to my hug counter to proudly update it and put a thousand AND ONE onto it but when i looked, it was only at 900. I was confused as first, then concerned, then panicked (I had already figured out what had happened). I questioned myself, "wasn't this at 1000? we (I) reached 1k, where's the number follows by a different number repeated thrice?! "I have no idea what happened. I didn't know what to do. I could just change the number to 1001, ooor I was wrong and maybe the counter was correct. or maybe the counter had terribly suffered some sort of injury and had forgotten it's last 100 hugs. oh my poor, sweet and lovely counter... you don't deserve this, what happened to you!? but I didn't matter, why was i dilly-dallying this whole ordeal? there shouldn't even be an ordeal! I should've just changed the number to 1000 and 1. and if I wanted to make a comedic moment of the situation, change it to 1000 and then 1001. hah, isn't that funny? but it didn't matter, all of this didn't matter, for I had already known what had happened at the moment I saw 900. the reason why I was staring at my screen for a minute and 30 seconds, maybe even close to TWO minutes, because I already knew what had happened. while 1 minute and a half may not seem as much time, when you're staring at a screen for that long, unmoving, going back and forth in your own head, that 1 minute and thirty seconds was painfully long. I had known from the very beginning. I didn't reach 1001 hugs. In fact, I had never reached 1000 hugs at all. I was at 8 hundred and 99 hugs... I saw I was close to 900 and to my dyslexic, non-intuitive brain, I had though I reached 999 after not doing the post right away when I got that "last hug." there was no "last hug," there was no 999th hug! only a hundred hugs added retroactively without even knowing it. 100 false hugs as if it were the 100 and more false memories I've had throughout my life as of far. just another false memory to add to this unrelated counter. not even a false memory but an incorrect remembering if something which I could've checked before hand to know how many hugs I've already gotten at the point. but I didn't check! I was so sure of myself. I had believed my memory was right and that was suffice. needless to say, it was not. my memory isn't the best and my issue with remembering numbers is an ongoing situation sprouted from my early childhood. in retrospect, I should've really had at least some doubt in this goal. this was a big deal after all, and in the early days of journey before I started this blog, before my dear counter was made, before I had even thought of making a place to store the rather useless number that I hold dearly to me, enough to make a record of goal, I was careless with them. I had a predecessor to this archive. it was in the bio of one of my other social media accounts. I wasn't as careful with the record of these hugs as I am of them now. I had guesstimated some amount of hugs after a point for I had always forgotten to update the counter right after getting one. I don't know for sure if I had 50 extra false hugs that never existed or was missing 20 hugs given by those who care for me very much enough to give me this act of compassion with cherish very much.

but even after all of this, it is a tad silly to obsess over the amount of hugs I got after a point. I realized I should appreciate the people who care for me and gaze upon all the friends and close ones I have that have given me this great amount of hugs. but I do appreciate them, I really do, I just don't feel like I do enough to show it or feel the way I feel. so I archive these milestones in hopes to show that I really do care. I care for everyone and I thank all of you for all these hugs. and I thank everyone that has hugged me and cared for me before the arbitrary point in time that I decided to start this journey in remembering my friends and loved ones. I appreciate you all. I thank you for all your love and I hope to give and receive more. I also thank you my little counter. I am a fool, a silly one at that, but I'd rather be like this than to not appreciate all these acts of love. that would be foolish than me now, and imagine that! something more foolish than me. quite silly indeed. I hope I'll continue to record all my received and given hugs from the people I care for the most accurately as I can and I understand that it may never be as accurate as I want it to be, but at the end of the day, I have people who care for me and I care for those people as well. for the record and to clarify why number I'm supposedly at as of writing this, I am at 904 hugs. a hundred or so false hugs isn't anything compared to the close to a thousand hugs I've had. even if it isn't actually a thousand, close to a thousand is enough for me. thank you and I'll make my next milestones "correct." I won't be removing or editing the previous false one but I fact keeping them for this is an archive after all. not only to keep record of all the hugs I got and to record the people who I've had them with, regardless of the situation. thank you

[druidx]

I finally finished this one!

The next day, Millicent came into the office to find Captain O'Toreguarde rummaging around on her desk. "Can I help you there, Boss?" Millie called as she hung up her cloak and hat. The Captain's spine straightened like a child caught fishing for candies, and she turned. "Millie?" the Captain asked, frowning. "Why are you here?" "Unless you've fired me," Millicent said, with a confused little smile, "I work here." O'Toreguarde snorted and grinned back. "I mean, why are you in today? You're supposed to be on holiday." Milicent came around her desk, handing the Captain the morning slates that she'd been hunting for. "I took it off the calendar," Millie said, shuffling papers. "I've got reports to file, and the sign-writers need paying, and–" "Millie." O'Toreguarde's tone made Millicent look up. The Captain pinched the bridge of her nose and gave the gnome a fond smile. "The reports can wait, I'll pay the sign-writers myself. We organised today so I have no meetings, remember? Just one small event, that's it. Go home. We can survive one day without you, I promise." O'Toreguarde's lips quirked up. "Just one day, mind." Millicent smiled back. "Are you sure?" "Yes. Go home, Millicent. Have a nice day off, do something fun." O'Toreguarde gave her secretary another fond smile. "You deserve it." "Alright," Millicent said, huffing out a sigh. She walked back over to throw on her cloak and hat. "Who knows?" O'Toreguarde said, leaning against Millie's desk, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Something magical might happen today." Millicent frowned at her boss, waiting for her to say more. Instead, O'Toreguarde pulled away from the desk, gave Millie a nod and went into her office.

Millicent wandered out of the Special Recondite building, considering what she would do with her day off. The light spring shower from this morning had passed, leaving the world fresh and sparkling. Some spring cleaning might be in order, Millicent thought. She had been avoiding it for the past week, being too tired to deal with the mess. Visions of her dark quarters, stuffy and filled with clutter filtered through her mind. "Ooor I could go to the Gardens of Galana and read…" she murmured, turning to walk in the opposite direction.

As she approached the SRU buildings again, Millicent noticed a handsome carriage standing outside the offices. A male liveried gnome was talking to Sargent Agresta. The elf was shaking her head until she caught sight of Millicent, then the Sargent waved, beckoning her over. "Yes?" Millie asked as she approached. "This chap was looking for you," Agresta said. "You are Mistress Millicent Wauters?" the gnome asked. Like the elf from the night before, he was wearing a smart pale blue silk suit. Millie paused, then said warily, "Yes?" The man beamed at her. "Excellent. If you would mind getting into the carriage, I'll take you to your first appointment." "Oh. No," Millie said, eyeing both the man and the carriage with a doubtful expression. "No, you must be after someone else then. I don't have any appointments booked for today. And that looks like a very expensive carriage." The man frowned and looked at a card he held. "Millicent Wauters, answers to 'Millie'. To be picked up outside the Special Recondite offices, where she works. Young, blond gnome. May be wearing a scrivener's stole." He looked up. "Pardon my bluntness, mistress, but you are a young, blond gnome wearing a scrivener's stole, and this officer has confirmed that you work here." Millicent pursed her lips. "You said 'appointments', plural." She held out a hand, twitching her fingers. "Let me see that itinerary. I'm hardly going to get in some random carriage. Captain O'Toreguarde taught me better than that. So let's have a look at where you think you're going to be taking me." The man dithered, clutching at the clipboard. "Come on. I'm not going to get in, not knowing where you're taking me." "Ah, the patron requested these all be a surprise…" Millicent crossed her arms. "Are you aware of how suspicious you sound right now? If you don't give me some evidence right now you're on the up-and-up, I'm going to scream very loudly, and every officer in that building – including Captain O'Toreguarde – is going to come out and arrest you." The man's face drained of colour. "I believe you have a code phrase on that little list of yours," Agresta said, peering over the man's shoulder, grinning at Millicent's display. "You should probably use it. I think she's serious about screaming, and, well, it would be a shame to arrest you for potential kidnapping and ruin whatever special day your patron has planned for Scrivner Wauters. Don't you think?" The man gave a strangled little sound, then cleared his throat. "Quite right. Quite right. Thank you, officer." He cleared his throat again and began to read from his sheet: "Every day you see the fantastical, extraordinary, and magical, Ink-stained fingers turning enchantments into mundane adage, What a change it would be, to recapture the fanciful? Come, take a ride in the gilded carriage, Reopen your eyes to the wonders the world holds, Let magic once more become gold."

"That was… very poetic." Millie tilted her head, considering for a moment, under the anxious and amused gazes of page and officer. "Millie," Agresta reached out, lightly touching her arm. "I can send an officer with you, if you're worried?" A tenseness in Millicent's chest, one that she hadn't even noticed, relaxed. The gnome nodded. "Please." "Wait right here," Agresta said to the page.

A moment later she emerged with a towering dwarf, tousled brown ringlets bouncing as he walked. "Constable Thir Nirakson, clan Thundersword, at your service," the dwarf said to the page, giving a short bow before moving to Millicent's side. "I'll be our scribe's bodyguard for today," he added, placing his hands on his hips. The page blinked. "Very well," he said. Millie let out a shuddering breath and leaned over to whisper, "Thank you, Thir." "Aye, well, I cannae imagine the fuss it'd cause if any harm befell ye. So best safer'n sorry." "Well now that's sorted," the page said. "If you would get in, we'll go on to your first appointment."

"Have you eaten yet?" the page asked, once they were settled in the carriage. Millicent thought back to her burnt, yet somehow cold, toast. "No." The page nodded. "Very good, marm. We'll make a small adjustment to your schedule then." He closed the door, and they felt the carriage rock as he climbed up next to the driver. The carriage gave a jerk, and then they were moving.

"What d'you suppose all this is about?" Millicent asked Thir as they rumbled along the street. "Agresta briefed me, aye miss, but I'm sure I couldn't say. It's proper mysterious though. Provided no one tries to kill ye, I'd say try to enjoy yeself, miss." Millicent snorted, lips kicked to one side in a half-smile. "I mean it, miss. Try to have fun. Ye've been cooped up in the offices for too long. T'ain't good for ye. Least this way, you'll get out and about a bit." Millie gave him a long look. "Alright," she said and settled down to people-watch through the window.

–––

By the time the sun settled a dusty rose over the city skyline, Millie was standing in the hallway of her home, ready and waiting for her escort to the ball. The day had passed in a blur of frippery and finery. Dress fittings for this evening's ball filled the morning. Breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea had been taken at several fine dining establishments, the meals filled with exotic foods and delicate patisserie. An afternoon of literary delight had followed, private tours of the Tourguard's finest institutions, given by the Council's head clerk, Librarian of the Libris Arcanum, and High Seanachie of Theater d'Olidammara.

Millicent smoothed a hand over the diaphanous claret skirt, tracing the patterns of gold embroidery with her fingertips. All the while she'd been ferried around the city in the bright light of day, the main event of the night had felt like a distant dream. Yet now here it was. The Ball. She pressed a hand to her abdomen, taking deep breaths against the anxiety curling through her stomach.

A knock sounded from without. "Are ye ready, miss?" Thir asked. Millicent pressed her lips together, the lipstick feeling powdery against her dry lips. "Do I look okay still?" she asked, a hand fluttering over bouffant jewelled curls. "You're stunning, miss," Thir said. "Ah, on-poldora," Millicent muttered and gave a short nod. "I'm ready." "Very good, miss." Thir stepped forward and opened the door. "Good evening, Constable," came a feminine voice. "I'm Scrivener Wauters' escort for this evening." Thir stepped back, holding the door so that Millicent could see her escort. "Captain?" she asked, surprised. In the doorway of Millie's apartment stood Captain O'Toreguarde. She was decked out in the ostentatious dress uniform of a Watch captain: an indigo blue suit, golden buttons glimmering down the front. On one shoulder sat her pauldron, the other held a drape of gold braiding. Across her chest hung a variety of medals, and in her clipped hair sat several dwarven hair clasps. "Good evening, Millicent," the Captain said. "I hope this won't be too strange for you. I do apologise – I wanted to find some strapping young thing to drape over your arm… but, well. Let's just say I'm not at all sure about Dweena's taste in men." O'Toreguarde held out a hand, which Millie took, and led her out to the handsome carriage she'd been using all day. "Didn't Dweena marry your friend Mr Parker-Tinkerer?" Millie asked. O'Toreguarde flashed a grin. "I feel my point still stands," she said, eliciting a smile from her companion.

–––

Bourdain's glittered, that was the only thing Millicent could think, as Captain O'Toreguarde helped her out of the carriage. Reflective panels sent shimmering golden light into the night. They were announced, but Millie only dimly registered that she was announced ahead of the Captain. She was too distracted, staring at the way crystal chandeliers spun rainbow ribbons through the air, while golden wall sconces glimmered like honey caught in sunlight. Sparks of light, like glitter, danced in patterns to the delight of onlookers. Millicent giggled as a group of lights surrounded her and Captain O'Toreguarde, encircling Millie before moving on to cluster around the Captain's head like a halo. O'Toreguarde mock tutted and chased them away, grinning at the entertainer who sent them.

The pair sallied into the press of people, the Captain leading Millie around and introducing her to what felt like half the city's elite, espousing her talents to all and sundry. The ceremonial transfer of power between Strucker and his protégée, Sommer, was a moving affair, and the remainder of the party flashed by in a cloud of glitz, laughter and compliments, good food and better wine.

The end of the night found Millie and her Captain in the cool air on Bourdain's balcony, gazing over the glittering lights of the city. "Have you had a good day, my scrivener?" O'Toreguarde asked. Millicent smiled. "It has been magical. Though I must confess, I enjoyed the literary tours more than the dress fittings." O'Toreguarde laughed. "Captain?" "Yes?" "Did you write that code phrase yourself?" Colour rose to the Captain's cheeks. "No. Do you remember that Bard you foist upon me, Saito? I outsourced it to him." "What happened to him?" "Graduated with full honours, and is now living on the Storm Coast." Millicent swept her hands over her skirts, then turned to O'Toreguarde, those same hands clasped and her face radiant. "Captain, thank you for today. I have enjoyed myself immensely. I'm don't know how to repay–" O'Toreguarde held up a hand. "Millicent, every day you work tirelessly to keep me on track, to make sure the SRU runs smoothly, and that I have what I need to do my job. I am never going to be able to fully repay you for the effort you put in. I hope this goes some way to showing you how much what you do means to me, and to the unit. Thank you, Millie." O'Toreguarde took Millicent's hands and squeezed them, her eyes shining with respect. "Thank you."

“You took all the pillows so I’m using you as one.”

for elo and co? 🥺 fluff blease?

have a complementary Cat as well

Princess For a Day

Additional Context to the above: This fic isn’t completely finished, however, I thought I should give you something for being so patient with me. So this is the first half of a longer fic and contains your prompt as well. I decided to go for Millie here, as the lass needs more love. This is set ~10 years after most of my SRU stories. Words: 785 CW: none Notes: “Aravae ar nosta”, elvish, lit. “great joy on your day of birth“ Taglist (ask for +/- FF/Titan fics): @aquadestinyswriting​ @viawrites-andacts

Millicent sighed, blowing a stray strand of blond hair out of her eyes as a knock came on the door of Captain O'Toreguarde's office. The gnome secretary felt her shoulders slump. She closed her eyes, leaning back into the lanolin-scented sofa as she heaved a sigh. "Yes?" Millie called, after a moment, returning to her work. The door creaked open. "Hi, Mill!" Millicent looked up to see a gnome with candyfloss pink hair bounce across the room, the hair bunches waggling out of sync. "Oh. Hey, Dweena," Millicent said, going back to her work. The sofa shifted and Millicent found Dweena's head flopped onto her shoulder. "What are you doing?" Millicent asked. "You took all the cushions so I’m using you as one," came the perky reply. "This sofa only has one cushion." "And you're using it. Ergo est, you are now the cushion." Millie looked down at her friend, stared at the opposite side of the office, sighed, and returned to her paperwork.

Only to be interrupted by Dweena pushing her head onto Millicent's lap, causing the Secretary to lift the papers before they spilled onto the floor. Millie stared down at Dweena for a moment, then put the papers on her face. "Don't complain if you get ink on your forehead," she said. "Wow. You're grouchy tonight." "Probably because you're being annoying tonight. If you're after the Captain, she left early. Said she had something to deal with." Dweena pushed the papers aside and blinked at the bitter tone from her normally chipper friend. "Actually I came to find you." Dweena waved a hand and the air rippled, sparkling like rainbows in crystal around the edge of a small hole in reality. From this, she pulled a slim wooden box decorated with a large orange bow. A flick of the wrist dismissed the hole and Dweena held the box up to Millicent. "Happy birthday, Mill." "It's not my birthday yet." "You're really going to quibble about a few hours?" Dweena waggled the box in Millicent's face. Millie heaved another sigh. "Oh alright," she said, setting down the papers and taking the box.

Dweena sat up, her eyes bright, as Millicent pulled off the bow and opened the box. Inside was a necklace. Swirling gold bands described a heart shape, and nestled at the centre was a medium-sized heart-shaped ruby. Millie gasped, eyes widening, a hand covering her gaping mouth. "Dweena… This…" Millicent blinked rapidly against her misting vision. "Do you like it?" Millicent swallowed and nodded. "Then you're welcome!" Dweena chirped, grinning from ear to ear, her eyes scrunched up in delight. "Oh, oh, let me put it on you?" Millicent nodded again and handed the box back. She turned her back to the other gnome, and Dweena draped the necklace around her. Instantly Millicent felt her skin tingle, like a small static rush. She twisted back. "You enchanted it?" "Mhm." Dweena bobbed her head. "Something to keep you safe, while you're working for the Watch." Millie held it out, her gaze flicking from the shimmering stone to Dweena. "It must have been so expensive…" Dweena placed a hand on Millicent's arm, her gaze earnest. "You deserve it." "Thank you!" Millicent said and threw her arms around Dweena, hugging her tightly. There came another knock on the door and the two girls drew apart. "Who is it?" Millicent called. "I have a delivery for Miss Millicent Wauters," came the reply, a cultured male voice. Dweena shrugged, nodding her head in the direction of the door. Millie rolled her eyes and went to the door.

Outside the Captain's office stood an elf in a light blue silk suit, carrying a pillow. He towered over Millicent, so she gave a gentle cough. "Can I help you?" The elf looked down. "Mistress Wauters?" "I am she." The elf went down to one knee. "Mistress Wauters, the Triumvirate Council requests the pleasure of your company tomorrow night at Bourdain's Grand Restaurant, for a celebratory ball being held in honour of General Strucker's retirement and the promotion of Captain Sommer." Millie blinked. "I'm sorry. I think there must be some mistake…" The elf raised a corn-silk eyebrow. "You are Millicent Wauters, are you not?" "Aye, but-" He gave a curt nod and proffered the pillow at her. A cream-coloured envelope with her name in gold ink sparkled upon it. Millicent picked it up and opened it. Inside was an ornate gold and blue card. "You will find all details of the event on the official invitation. I wish you a very pleasant evening, mistress. Aravae ar nosta for tomorrow." With that he gracefully resumed his feet and left, leaving Millie gaping in the office doorway.

[mcyt-peach]

Hello, I'd like to request for the 'right place right time' event (hopefully I'm not late lol)

Punz + The hotel + 9:22 PM

Congratulations on getting 500 followers btw, your writing is really adorable and good 💕

punz + the hotel + 9:22 pm

*:･ﾟ note: thank you for the kind words honey and I hope you like this but heads up it's a bit suggestive but that's just how it goes with punz lol

Every so often, you were able to scrape a couple vacation days together and you and Punz would disappear for a few days to just spend time with each other.

You had been planning, key word, planning, to fly down to the coast and go to some famous amusement park Punz had been hoping to see. But an unexpected storm left you stuck in some random state during what should’ve been a short layover. Hotel vouchers were offered, but the buses were few and far between in the rain.

Finally, after the sun had long set, you and Punz were able to check in at the hotel, where a tired looking teenager slid you the keycard for your room. He seemed unfazed by your soaking clothes and jet-lagged appearance, likely already used to the site as many fellow passengers lined up behind you.

Never in your life had you been so excited to lie down and Punz clearly agreed, throwing his jacket on the floor and pulling you down onto the bed with him. The mattress was lumpy and smaller than you would’ve liked, but it felt like heaven.

“This is probably the least comfortable bed I’ve ever laid on.” Punz shuffles as his shoes fall to the floor and he shimmies further up the bed. “But this feels absolutely amazing.”

“You know, I must say, you’re looking pretty handsome under this hotel lighting.” Now that catches his interest, turning to throw his arm around you and drag you across the scratchy comforter.

“Is that so, baby?” Lifting himself up on his elbows, he leaned over to kiss you. Which would’ve been romantic, if not for the feeling of rain dripping from his hair onto your face.

“Ugh, all I want to do is sleep, but we should probably shower. We don’t want to get sick before vacation even begins.” You move to stand up, but Punz stays lying on the bed.

“Ladies first. I can shower later.” He looks exhausted, but you know if you shower first, he’ll be asleep by the time you get out.

“Ooor, you could join me.” You don’t even have to look behind you to know that Punz has popped up from his place on the bed and is making his way to the bathroom.

❀ right place right time event ❀ event masterlist ❀

[dragonjesterwrites]

For a request, could you write a Dimentio x Reader? I'm so hungry for content of him 💀. What you do with it doesn't matter in the terms of plot: it could be anything from.. A scene with the reader taking care of Dimentio after the events of Super Paper Mario, or... shenanians with Dimentio living with the reader... ooor... How the reader meets up with Dimentio-- those are just a few ideas lol, you don't have to pick any of those prompts. I trust your writing capabilities, so feel free to do whatever you'd like with Dimmy and the reader 💞

Oh man, mood, there's so little story content with him! He's such a fun character to write too

I appreciate your faith in my writing skills! 😂 I'm honestly so flattered people enjoy my work, and glad because I really enjoy writing haha.

Had a lot of fun with this one, hope you like! 😁

TW: Light swearing, injury, mild angst

"He called me 'pretty boy.'"

You raised your head to look over at the jester from where you lay on your bed, propping your chin up in one hand. He was laying on the couch in your room, staring at the ceiling with his hands on his stomach, like a therapy patient. If anyone needed therapy, it was him, but you weren't his therapist. As a matter of fact, you hadn't even invited him into your room, he'd just broken through the magical locks you'd put up for the second time this month. The first time he'd done it, it had annoyed you, but as you got to know each other, it quickly became a game, a competition.

The others weren't sure why you put up with him, and part of you wondered the same thing. You supposed it was all the things you two had in common. And he was good company, when he wasn't trying to be deliberately annoying.

"Hm?"

"Oh, I said he called me 'pretty boy.'"

"I heard you the first time." You snorted, turning your attention back to the page of the tome in front of you. "And how did that make you feel?"

He giggled, and you heard the sounds of the bells on his hat jingle as he adjusted himself. "Well, doc, I think it was supposed to be an insult, but I felt flattered!"

"Mm. I diagnose you with narcissism."

He let out a short cackle, then cleared his throat, still giggling a little as he began to speak. "But seriously, why is it an insult? What's wrong with being a pretty boy? Maybe I want to be called pretty every now and again." The bells jingled again, and you flicked your gaze up at him. He had moved to  lay on his side, one floating hand propping his head up and one leg stuck in the air while the other hand and leg rested on the couch. He winked at you, but you just shook your head with a wry smile and returned your attention to the book.

"Don't you think I'm pretty?" He asked, sounding disappointed as he let his leg fall with a soft thwump.

"You're gorgeous." It was the truth- you thought so, anyway. As annoying as he could be, he was cute.

"Really?" He actually sounded genuinely excited. And surprised. You'd have thought with all the flirting he did, he'd get more genuine compliments.

"Mmhmm."

"Would you kiss me?" He asked, that cheerful tone back in his voice.

Your heart began thumping against your will and your gaze froze halfway through a sentence. "How forward." You replied, keeping your voice steady.

"I'd kiss you, if you let me. I've always thought you're beautiful. You draw me in, like the moon does the tide." He hopped off the couch and kneeled at the foot of your bed, placing his chin on the blankets and beaming up at you, gaze half lidded.

You moved your book to the side, eyes not leaving his. His eyes widened slightly as his attention flickered to the book and then back to you. "Is that right?" You asked, moving in closer.

"Want me to say it again? Now who's the narcissist?" He teased. You shook your head and took his face in one hand, humming as he leaned into your palm.

"Cute." You informed him, and his smile grew as he wiggled forward. You leaned in and kissed him, reveling in the soft noise he made. He gently placed one hand over the one you had on his cheek, kneading it softly as he kissed you back.

You felt him part his mouth slightly, and his tongue began to slip into your mouth, but you pulled away, smiling at the soft whine that came from him.

"Not that I'm not enjoying this, but we have a meeting in five minutes, and you know how Nastasia likes to get cruel and unusual with her punishments." You said with a sigh, pulling your legs together and crossing them. He merely grinned and heaved himself on to your bed, placing his hands on your knees.

"Five minutes is plenty of time when you can teleport." He replied cheerily, leaning in again. You couldn't help the smirk that overcame you. Ah, what the hell.

~~~~~~

What the hell?

Dimentio's prone form lay in front of you, sagged against one of the Underwhere's many pitch-black boulders. The only indication he was alive- and he was alive, somehow- was the way his chest slowly rose and fell, although it trembled as it did. His mask was horribly cracked, his jester costume was burned, frayed, and had pieces ripped off, and only a single bell remained on his ruined hat, rusty and dented.

You weren't surprised to see him here, or surprised that he was injured. No, he deserved this, every broken bone, every crack in his mask, every ounce of humiliation. What surprised you was the extent of the injuries and damage to his costume. Most of it, the heroes had told you, was from the explosion, but you could tell some of the damage was fresh. He'd only been down here a week so far.

Well, why should you care? He betrayed everyone. He betrayed you. He deserves this.

You turned on your heel and stalked off. You hadn't come down here to find him, you'd come down here for a rare flower to make a potion. Now, where was the moss that grew near the flower? What did Merlon say? West of the...

A bell jingled behind you, shaking you out of your thoughts. You stopped. Sighed. Turned around, and walked back to him, standing in front of him with your arms crossed. He weakly lifted his head, and you realized with a grimace the damage was worse than you thought. The white side of his mask was so badly cracked that you could no longer tell what had been eye and what was now a gaping hole.

"Hello, pretty boy." Your tone was cold as you looked down at him. He let out a crackling wheeze, almost a giggle, before a coughing fit wracked his broken body, and he cried out in pain as he clutched his ribs.

You watched without sympathy, expression unchanging as the fit subsided and he slumped back against the boulder.

"I… meant it." He whispered. You crouched down to hear him better.

"Meant what?"

"Told a lot of lies." He paused to suck in a pained breath. "But I wasn't lying when I said you were beautiful."

"Well, I hope you got a good look, because my face will, with any luck, be the last thing you ever see." You informed him. You were about to stand up and leave when he stirred to life, frowning slightly, and spoke again.

"I am... not a good person. And I should have told you- agh- Bleck was lying the moment I found out. I should have told you all."

"Then why didn't you?" You snarled, anger you'd thought you'd successfully pushed away taking you by surprise. The others had forgiven the Count immediately. You had not- were you supposed to just because he was finally reunited with his long lost lover, only for their already tragic story to end in more tragedy by Dimentio's ghostly hand? To the Underwhere with that, he lied to you all! As angry as you were at Dimentio, you think you despised the Count more- he was the worse of the two, if only by a little. But the part that made your blood boil (and your heart twinge in pain) was that Dimentio had known. He knew the Count planned on killing everyone, and said nothing, instead hijacking the Chaos Heart for his own personal gain. You wanted to kick him.

He winced and curled in on himself slightly, as if he could read your thoughts. "Didn't think you'd believe me. You were all so enamored by his promises. Not that I blame you." He paused again as his voice grew weak from the amount of words spoken, clearing his throat. "I was too. But I wasn't going to just let you all die. I was going to use the Chaos Heart to give us all what we wanted."

You scowled at him. "Likely story."

"I was!" He protested, his voice cracking slightly as he raised his voice.  "But now… if I live… I just want to... spend the rest of my life relaxing, in a cabin somewhere. Maybe get a pet or something, I don't know."

"You told me you wanted to be a king. Why go from castle to cabin?" You asked, narrowing your eyes.

"If I survive, I won't have the same physical mobility as before, a cabin will be easier to move around in. Plus my flow of magic has already been permanently reduced to a mere trickle, so I can't even use that to move around anymore. That damn heart sapped me- as dark artifacts tend to if you get too close too quickly." He sounded genuinely upset, and despite yourself, your glare softened into a frown. 

You silently cast a spell to detect magic around you, and it did pick up on him- but he wasn't lying, his magic was no more than a shadow of its former self, the purple flame inside his soul that had normally danced so bright and large now flickering weakly in his chest. He gave no indication that he noticed your spell pass over him, simply staring at his upturned palms that rested on his legs. For several seconds, you were both silent.

"I have a cabin."

"Hm?"

"It's several dimensions away from Flipside. You can't betray anyone there." You paused to gauge his reaction, and to his credit he nodded in weary acknowledgement. "I'll heal you. But you owe me, big time."

He merely nodded. "Thank you." He whispered. You knelt down next to him and cast a few minor healing spells, curing just the potentially fatal ones, and he shuddered in relief, the tension in his body easing up some.

You paused, sighed, then briefly brushed your lips against his, feeling the cracks of his mask. His good eye widened in shock as you pulled back and his fingers came up to touch his lips. "After everything I did, you still have feelings for me?"

You shrugged and picked him up bridal-style, ignoring his grunts of pain. "Why do you suppose I was so angry?"

"You're insane." He told you in disbelief.

"Pot kettle." You replied matter-of-factly, beginning your trek back to your small camp. He chuckled weakly and rested his head on your shoulder, playing with the strap of your bag.

"Fair. You didn't come down here to see me, I take it, so why did you?"

"Ugh. Trying to find the Nightbloom flower. Merlon needed it for a potion." You rolled your eyes and adjusted him slightly in your arms. "Why it's got to be a wild one and not garden grown, I don't know, but he insists they're different."

Dimentio shrugged as best he could in his position. "It can be. Underwhere soil doesn't last in the overworld, as you know, and it's hard to turn overworld soil into Underwhere soil. Even then Nightbloom flowers grow faster and healthier in the real deal, no matter how good you are. Oh, and here's a few."

To your surprise, he pulled out several of the flowers from his poncho, their blueish white petals unfurling in response to the gloomy atmosphere. He waved his free hand and they slowly weaved themselves together, Dimentio beginning to breathe hard with even the small effort. You were going to tell him to stop before he really hurt himself, but the flowers finished knitting together and he slumped against you, a weak smile on his face as his chest heaved.

"Ta-da." With a trembling hand, he took the flower crown and placed it on your head, a dopey grin plastered on his face. "Gorgeous."

You shook your head, hoping he couldn't feel your heart begin thumping. You reached the camp, placing him down on your blanket before turning to the small campfire and pouring you both some stew from the bubbling pot.

But when you turned back to him with his bowl, he was asleep, and you heaved yet another sigh, pressing a kiss to his forehead before settling down beside him, subconsciously reaching up to touch the flowers that adorned your head.

Maybe, with enough effort from him, you could forgive him.

[toughtink]

the correct answer is theme park design which barely squeezed into second place at the last moment! while i do enjoy designing and making costumes, i’ve never professionally fabricated pieces for other people—it’s just a hobby.

i very occasionally get to design costumes as part of my day job, but it’s much less common than the other parts of it. i’ve designed on attractions, events, exhibits, retail, dining, signage, entire themed lands, and everything in between. this can mean sketches, storyboards, and key art or turn-arounds and elevations for production.

unfortunately, a lot of this work is trapped forever under NDAs since so much of it is high level blue sky that will never be realized or it’s for companies that purposefully avoid showing concept development work to the public since they don’t generally like their VE’ed final product to be compared to the infinite budget “what could have been!” art ooor we WILL be able to share the work eventually, but it’s like 5 years later and maybe doesn’t really represent our skills/style anymore. maybe someday this industry will get cool art books of concept art (beyond the very few imagineering ones disney’s released for decade’s old concepts), but don’t hold your breath. 😑

pop quiz!

[auburnflight]

VnC 47: Jeanne’s Fantasy

I'm really intrigued by this page of Jeanne reading one of Luca’s books in VnC chapter 47:

From the previous page, we can tell that it's a traditional fairy tale--to be exact, Sleeping Beauty (In French, La Belle au bois dormant).

What stood out to me about it is that, as she reads, Jeanne envisions herself in the conventionally male role—fighting the monster, saving Sleeping Beauty (who is actually Vanitas), and carrying her (him) to safety. I wanted to address a few meanings that this seemingly innocuous page could have for the story: added complexity to Vanitas and Jeanne's relationship, potential foreshadowing, as well as a queer reading.

Up until now, Vanitas and Jeanne's relationship has followed a heteronormative type of the controlling man and the more submissive woman, almost to the point that it's humorous. Jeanne, introduced initially as fierce and intimidating yet strikingly beautiful, is taken in by Vanitas, who manipulates her into being dependent on him (for example, making her drink only his blood and promising to kill her if she goes mad). In short, she turns out to be, in the words of the other characters, "kind of a pushover."

IMO, this characterization does not leave a positive first impression. I was excited by the image of Jeanne as a feared fighter (which, admittedly she still holds somewhat, though the story of the hellfire witch has been put on the back burner for now), and I felt that she immediately lost a lot of that "coolness potential" when that image got buried in Jeanne's romantic entanglement with Vanitas. But I do feel that this image of Jeanne's fantasy introduced in chapter 47 adds a level of intentional irony and textual self-awareness to Jeanne and Vanitas's romance. It juuust begins to undermine heteronormative ideas about gender roles, instead of blindly following them.

In actuality, the crafty Vanitas has the surprisingly innocent Jeanne under his control, and  Jeanne loses much of her say in her own narrative. But in her fantasy, Jeanne maintains agency over her own story. Perhaps, due to her inexperience, she fails to see the strategies that Vanitas has used to establish his position of control over her. But she desires to some extent to lead her story in its own direction. Through the inclusion of this brief yet important fantasy, Jun Mochizuki may be acknowledging that their relationship is more complex than it appears on the surface (as Mochijun’s stories so often are!).

...Ooor it could be just wishful thinking, but I’m really hoping that it’s not.

Whether or not Jeanne will be able to regain agency remains to be seen. In this sense, this image of her fantasizing could be read as foreshadowing—there's a discrepancy between her ideal romance and the actual nature of the one she's in, so maybe she won't get the "happy end" that she envisions in the fairy tale.

I'd also like to posit the interpretation of this page as a queer reading of the text. Obviously we've seen queercoding elsewhere in Vanitas in numerous places. Notably, though, Jeanne's fantasy comes explicitly and intentionally from within her—this is not just the characters or the text hinting to something, but something Jeanne actively (even if subconsciously) wants for herself. This is  stood out to me as a lesbian reading the text—it's a direct glimpse into an awareness of or desire to reach outside the prescribed notions of heteronormative relationships. 

Again, how exactly this becomes significant to Jeanne's character arc remains to be seen. However, as a reader whose "queer awakening" began with that first realization that I wanted to completely upend masculine and feminine sterotypes in relationships, I definitely feel a little more complexity hiding under the surface for Jeanne, and I look forward to seeing how this vision of herself is built upon further as the series progresses.

Of course, this is just one page in the midst of a chapter that's overall dedicated more to Misha. However, considering the implications that Jeanne and Vanitas's relationship have already had and will continue to have for plot events, I think it's worth noting this page and particularly the middle panel as a glimpse into Jeanne's perspective. And, saving and being saved, as is happening in the fairy tale, is a theme at the core of Vanitas as a whole. We have already seen that Vanitas has promised to "save" Jeanne and heard Noe’s hypothesis that Vanitas even wants to be saved himself. So, both on a surface level and in numerous more subtle ways, this panel is actually deeply entwined with the messages that Vanitas conveys. In particular, I look forward to seeing how the complexities of Jeanne, both as an individual and in terms of her relationship with Vanitas, continue to be revealed!

Fun fact to end the post: The thorns and briars are a significant symbol in Sleeping Beauty, which is also known by the title "Little Briar Rose." We've already seen "shadow briars” in our encounter with Amelia/Eglantine earlier in the series. I wonder if these are connected somehow...?

[rovewritesit]

Angel Of My Dreams (Chapter 4) John Deacon x Reader Series

Series Summary: After reluctantly joining a band with your childhood best friends, you are thrust into oncoming stardom with no sea legs and an overwhelming sense of anxiety. But you just might find your way, thanks to some seasoned pros by your side. And the interest of one particular bassist.

This series is a work of fiction, and is loosely inspired by real people and events. Absolutely no offense is meant to actual Queen or their families.

PART 1 - PART 2 - PART 3

Pairing: John Deacon x Reader

Chapter Warnings: Strong language. Feelings of anxiety.

Chapter Notes: This one was a doozy! Don’t start your very first fic with only a vague idea of where it’s going, friends! Quick reminder that this is a slow ass burn. Gonna take us a bit to get there but want to point out there will be no infidelity. Also fun fact: my grandfather actually did work at Elaine’s and the Mick Jagger story is true.

Song/Title Inspiration: Angel - Fleetwood Mac

Songs Mentioned:

Hallelujah, I Love Her So - Ray Charles

Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) - Billy Joel - [I know it wasn’t released till the 90s but I couldn’t shake it]

Taglist: @yourlocalmusicalprostitute​ @brianmays-hair @deacyblues @squishy-geckboye @hae-bee @aprilaady

- - - - - - -

July 1982 - Freeport, Long Island

“I’ll be right back,” you sigh to no one in particular, pushing yourself off of the faded paisley couch in the basement of Steve’s parent’s house and making your way upstairs for a glass of water. The dull pounding in your head had only gotten worse from repeatedly staring at the green shag carpeting leftover from the prior decade. Navigating the layout of the familiar house with ease, you make your way to the kitchen.

“Oh, Bunny! Wonderful, I was just about to bring down some iced tea,” calls out Steve’s mother upon seeing you.

“Thanks, Mrs. Castellano. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Well, you know me. It was too quiet when you were all away.” The Limbs had recently gotten back from a small European tour--the album having spread beyond England; to Scotland, France, Germany, and Belgium. “I can’t help myself when I get all of you back under my roof. Speaking of… how’s it going down there?” she presses.

You keep your deadpan expression glued to your face as you lock eyes with the kind woman.

She grimaces, “I had a feeling. You better bring this back yourself then,” she hands you the pitcher.

“Will do. Thanks again, Mrs. C,” you tell her as you start to trudge your body back towards the basement. You let out a deep sigh before yanking the door open and descending into the pit of your own personal hell.

Lawrence’s voice booms from below, “I said simple! A simple four to the floor, and that’s it.”

The rest of The Limbs were right as you left them. Eddie and Rich lounge on the couch that is pushed up against the wood-paneled walls, their guitars strewn casually over their legs as they watch the ongoing argument. Lawrence paces around the room, his hands seemingly glued to his head as he pulls on his hair, and Steve sits behind his drum kit that’s tucked away in the corner. Padded blankets hang from the ceiling around him - a sorry excuse for soundproofing.

“Oh c’mon, I’m just adding some flavor to it! I’ll be as boring, sorry simple, as you want when we actually record it,” Steven replies, twirling a drumstick in his right hand.

Rich lets out a sigh as he clocks you making your way back. “Bun, any help here?”

You softly place the pitcher on a table off to the side before turning to the group, leaning back on your hands. “I just don’t get why we need to debut something new if it’s obviously not ready,” you say carefully.

“Of course you’d say that,” Lawrence grumbled, gesturing in your general direction. “Do you not want to sing it? Because you all told me you thought it was good!”

“It’s not that, and you know it, it’s just-”

“It just needs some work before Sunday, so let’s run the rhythm section again,” Eddie cuts in impatiently from his perch on the back of the couch. He untangles his spidery limbs and makes his way over to where you’re camped out.

“Okay, I’ll explain it again,” Lawrence huffs.

“We don’t need this stress two days before we play,” you tell Eddie softly.

“It’s a hometown show, Y/N,” he looks at you pointedly. “These folks helped get us to where we are. It’ll be nice to give them something new.”

The label had secured The Limbs a night at the Jones Beach Theater, the largest outdoor venue on the island. People from all over traveled to watch such acts as Jimmy Buffet, James Taylor, and Aerosmith, the height of entertainment for the suburban droves. And now they’ll be camping out for the first hometown Limbs show since they’d been signed. It was a huge deal, and you knew it, but you didn’t need something unfamiliar to throw off your already wavering shadow of a presence on stage.

Rich begins to pluck out the new bass line, carefully watching Lawrence’s reaction as he plays. On the pick-up, Steve again adds a light flourish as he joins in.

“Steve! For god’s sake! What did I just say?!”

“Live a little, will ya, Lawrence!” Steven shouts back.

The door to the basement wrenches open, and you all freeze. Mr. Castellano’s footsteps are heavy as he stomps down the stairs, somehow staring all of you down at once.

“Kids. If you’d be so kind as to keep it down a tad. I already have to watch the Yankees hand their asses over to the Blue Jays up there. I would at least like to hear it.”

“Sorry, Dad,” Steve mumbles.

“Thank you.” He starts to make his way back up the stairs but halts, turning to you once again. “Oh, also, someone from your label called before,” he adds on casually.

Steven jumps up from his stool, “What?! Dad!”

“What?! Steven!” he mimics. “I’m not your secretary.”

“Can you just tell us what they said?” Steve scoffs at his father.

“Something about being invited to a show at The Garden tonight. Some band. It’s… Dang it. I wrote it down somewhere,” he mutters, making his way back up the stairs.

“I wonder who it is,” Rich thinks aloud, glancing around to all of you.

Eddie notices as your body immediately stiffens beside him.

“Bun?” he asks slowly. “Do you know who’s playing Madison Square Garden tonight?”

Your eyes find the green carpet once again. Of course you knew who was playing tonight. Queen was beginning their two-night stay at the venue. Dawn wanted to get tickets, but you had argued that it was getting harder for you to go unrecognized in public. That, and the fact you had come to the realization you could only act like a complete fool around any of the band members. You weren’t keen on adding another entry to the list.

“It’s Queen!” Mr. Castellano calls from upstairs. “Starts at 8. You kids should get going if you’re gonna make it.”

“Queen’s playing?” Lawrence marvels. “How did we miss that?”

Rich rises, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe all the incessant practicing you’ve been holding us hostage for?” 

“She knew,” Eddie smirks, pointing at you with his thumb. You stick your tongue out at him.

“Why didn’t you say anything? I’ve never gotten the chance to see them live before!” Steve questions, already rocking back on his heels with excitement. He had become quite the Queen fan since your run-in with Freddie after sticking to him like glue that entire night.

You shrug, trying to act nonchalant, “I thought we had more important things to focus on.”

“No, that’s not it,” Eddie deduces, narrowing his eyes at you. “You’re just embarrassed that you went all jellied around Mr. Mercury the last time.”

“You’re the one who had to go and tell him all about me fawning over them on MTV!”

“Ooor, maybe it’s because the entirety of the UK saw you making eyes at their bassist on that game show,” Lawrence elaborates.

“There were no eyes being made at anyone,” you grit out defensively, knowing full well that their words were ringing true.

“I, for one, am happy you have a crush, Bun. You know it’s been a while since…” Rich trails off, leaving out the name of a dreaded ex none of you speak of.

You push yourself off your perch on the table with a huff. “You know what? We’ll go. Let’s go. That way, I can disprove all your wildly inaccurate assumptions,” you retort, wanting to get the heat off you fast.

Steven chuckles, “Oh no, she’s broken out her dictionary, folks. Looks like we’ve hit a nerve.” He pokes your side playfully.

“Shut up, please,” you tell them, making your way over to the stairs. “We have a train to catch.”

- - - - - - -

You’re late.

The muffled bass from the arena hits your ears as the Limbs dash up the steps leading from Penn Station to MSG. You all but sprint to catch up with the boy’s long gaits as they approach the box office window.

“Hiya, there’s supposed to be some tickets at will-call for us from the band,” Eddie explains to a woman behind the glass as he tries to catch his breath.

“Name?” 

“Uh… Lo & The Limbs?”

“Don’t have anything under that name. Could it be something else?”

“Can you try just The Limbs?” he guesses, turning back to the group with wide, panicked eyes.

“Nope, sorry,” she answers in a monotone.

“How about The Legs,” you offer up from your spot behind Rich’s tall figure. She just shakes her head.

“Well, fuck,” Lawrence sighs, slapping his palms against his legs, obviously ticked off from the 45-minute train ride you’d all barely caught because Steve had changed his shirt a minimum of three times before you could all head out.

“What about Bunny?” Steve asks with a giggle.

The woman raises her eyebrows before checking the list yet again.

“Ah, there you are. Bunny and friends,” she concludes with a sigh.

A chorus of chuckles erupts from the boys. You point your finger at Eddie.

“I’m coming for ya. Eds. You’re not gonna know where or when, but I’ll get you back for this one day,” you tell him playfully. 

“Oh yeah, and when you kill me, you can be free to go off and start your solo group, Bunny and Friends.”

She hands you all large laminate passes and gestures for you to follow a security guard. They deposit you in one of the skyboxes on the 10th floor. The Limbs tentatively enter, glancing around at the mishmash of people gathered. Extra crew, friends of the band, some execs, you guess to yourself. The boys immediately descend on the small bar set up in the back of the room.

“Here, I assume you need one of these,” Lawrence shoves a beer in your shaking hands. 

“You assume right, good sir.”

“How the hell did we lose Steve already?” Eddie gripes. Rich easily spots him over the tops of heads surrounding them, pointing to a tall figure pushing his way towards the front of the box that opens up into seating. You all follow, mummering polite excuse me’s and thank you’s as you try to keep up. You can hear Play The Game get louder as you approach the view. 

Steve rushes to the first row of seats, leaning over the railing of the balcony. “God, will you look at all these people?” he marvels, watching as the dancing lights illuminate the mass below him.

But you’re not looking at the crowd. Your gaze immediately finds the stage, where Freddie is situated behind a piano off to the left. His voice booms as if he were standing right next to you, and you’re positive that even without a mic, it would be heard by all 20,000 individuals. His eyes are closed as he slams hard on the piano, seemingly in his own world, yet the entire crowd is wholly entranced.

Brian then casually lopes to center for his solo. He smiles out at the crowd as his fingers dance across the frets gracefully while Eddie screams in appreciation throughout. He then jogs back to his mic, nearly missing his cue for his backing vocals, but his fingers never rest. Roger’s gravely falsetto catches your ear, and you train your eyes on the multitasking drummer. Even up behind his kit, his presence takes center stage while he keeps perfect time. The group ends the song in perfect synchronicity as the lights cut to black.

The chords for Somebody To Love start with a few majestic trills from Freddie’s voice, but your attention is once again grabbed away. Towards the back of the stage, still cast in darkness, you see John. He quickly shrugs off a fitted leather jacket to reveal an even tighter full cerulean blue ensemble before a roadie slips the strap of his bass over his head. He strolls into the light just as Freddie finishes his improv, lightly bouncing on the balls of his feet as they begin the song.

While he keeps his gaze mostly pointed to the ground, his body already thrums with anticipation. As it really gets going, you watch as he comes to life. You can’t help but hang onto his every movement; the unintentional jerks of his head, the light two-step of his feet as he shuffles along to his bass line's groove. He seems entirely at the will of the song and loving every minute of it. A pang of jealousy hits your chest as you wonder if you’d ever feel that free on stage.

Not much conversation passes between you and the boys as you watch on, more than a bit awestruck. You’re not sure how many songs pass, but fresh beers repeatedly appear in your hands every so often. The lights are dizzyingly bright as your eyes skip around the stage, trying to absorb as much as you can. You find they consistently flick back to John, sucking in every minutia of his performance. Your chest tightens like it did the day of Pop Quiz. Every time he had caught your eye, you remember having to push down the inescapable thoughts you were having. You would tell yourself you don’t know what it is about him, but you’d be lying. 

A voice jolts you out of your stupor. “You must be Fred’s young friends he met in New Haven.”

The group turns to find a small man situated in the row behind them wearing an impeccably tailored suit.

“Jim Beach, manager for the band,” he holds out a hand for each of you to shake. “Sorry for the last-minute invitation. Fred was simply beside himself when he remembered you’re all from New York. So glad you could make it.”

“This is incredible, thanks so much for having us,” Rich tells the man sincerely as his gaze keeps being drawn back to the stage.

“Glad you’re enjoying yourselves. We’ve always been big fans of playing here.”

“It’s quite the spectacle,” you muse. “I've never seen The Garden this decked out before. I mean, those lighting rigs alone must cost…” you trail off.

“Believe me, you don’t want to know,” Jim replies with a quirk of his lips. “If you’d all like to follow me downstairs, they’ll be finishing up soon, and I’m sure Fred would love to thank you for coming.”

Steve leaps from his plastic seat, “Yes, please!”

- - - - - - -

The green room is unlike any you’ve ever seen—rust-colored persian rugs litter the floor, the grey slate underneath barely peeking through. Tapestries and various paintings line the walls, somehow giving the usually sterile space a homey feel. Multiple buffet tables filled with every accoutrement imaginable are tucked away in a back corner.

The room is scarce of people for the most part. Crew members filter in and out, grabbing waters, some puffing on cigarettes as they wipe down their sweaty foreheads. A select few have migrated down from the skybox as well.

Lawrence plops down on one of the many leather couches, taking in the room. “So this is what it’s like when you make it?”

“Seems a little excessive even for a band of their stature,” murmurs Rich as if reading your mind.

The deafening roar of the crowd is heard from above, and Queen closes out their encore. The crew members who are now needed for the post set break-down hurry from the room as it gets quiet. You all sit there in near silence for a few moments until a light cheer erupts as Freddie, Brian, and Roger all enter the room, swaddled in thick robes and towels around their necks. They're breathing heavy, still radiating the energy from their set, knowing full well that it was a fantastic show.

“Thank you, darling,” Freddie says as someone hands him a bottle of cold water, glancing around at the people who are still giving the band a wide berth. He spots the group of you huddled out of the way. “Oh!” he exclaims with a clap of his hands, making his way over, “You made it!”

He kisses you all on the cheeks, leaving a ghost of sweat on your faces. “My gangly young saplings! It’s lovely to see you.” He locks eyes with you, a wicked grin on his face. “And you most of all, my little cottontail.”

“You were fantastic Freddie, thank you so much for thinking of us, really,” you tell him genuinely.

“And who have we got here?” a towering Brian May appears behind Freddie.

“Oh yes, may I present to you, Lo & The Limbs!” Freddie says, spreading his arms wide. So he does remember the name; you laugh to yourself.

Eddie pushes further into the group to immediately extend his hand. “You slayed tonight, man. I mean, really slayed.”

Brian returns the shake with a surprised laugh. “Why, thank you. I’ve heard your album, and I have to say, you all… slay as well.”

“Oy, you!” A disheveled looking Roger Taylor makes his way over to the group, people parting like the red sea before him. He marches straight up to you, his finger inches from your nose. “I lost quite a lot of quid, thanks to you.”

You shrink back a bit. “I’m sorry?”

“It would be like John to bring in a ringer at the last second. And after we’d already threw down our bets.” You glance at Freddie with a confused look still on your face.

“What a lovely way to welcome our new friends,” Brian throws an arm over Roger’s shoulder before turning to you. “We may have made a slight wager on John’s most recent Pop Quiz appearance.”

“Slight?” Freddie smirks. “My new Gucci loafers would disagree, darling.”

Roger lets out an incoherent grumble. “Well, he usually fucks it up, doesn’t he? That is until you snuck in there.”

“I’m… sorry?” you offer, failing to find a witty remark for the situation.

He heaves a dramatic sigh, “I guess you’ll just have to make it up to me. I’ve been looking for someone to help me bury the bodies, or do my taxes, or be on call if I perhaps fancied a shag in the middle of the night?” he raises his brows in an overtly teasing manner.

You let out a sharp snort. “Fancy a shag? God, that sounds so much better than “ya wanna go fuck?”

Roger chuckles heartily, “Alright, alright. It was touch and go there for a bit, but I’ve come ‘round. I like this one. She can stay.”

“Y’know, we made a bet of sorts as well,” Lawrence reveals with a mischievous grin. The men all look to him, intrigued. “How long Y/N could keep her cool around that bassist of yours. She failed miserably, and now we shall reap the benefits by teasing her mercilessly until the end of time.”

You swear your mouth couldn’t have dropped open faster. Really need to work on that poker face, you tell yourself.

“Someone was trying to be cool around Deacy? Are you sure you’ve met the man?” Brian laughs.

Staring blankly around, all you know is you need to get out of this situation fast. “I need to pee,” you announce loudly. Really, Y/N? “Excuse me.”

Quickly ducking out of the room before anyone can say anything, you lean your back up against the wall in the hallway as you collect your swimming thoughts. What was it about this band that made you get all dumbstruck? Truth be told, you weren’t usually a timid person. Sure, everyone had bouts of social anxiety now and again, but you navigated social interactions seamlessly for the most part. It had always been easy for you to make friends or crack a quick comeback at a joke. Teasing was a form of endearment where you came from. But ever since you’d entered this new world, it was as if you were a stranger in your body. Who happened to be almost mute apparently. You push yourself off the wall to find a bathroom, your mind still fully occupied by your inner ramblings.

“Points!” a roadie shouts at you, trying to get your attention as they push a cart of cumbersome looking sound equipment right into your path. Before you have time to react, two hands grip your waist and pull you back to your previous position against the wall. 

Once again, you are face to face with a familiar chest. You watch as a light chuckle rumbles through it.

“I know it’s cheesy to say, but we have to stop meeting like this. Or do you make it a point to always bumble about in narrow hallways?” John pulls his hands back to his side as you meet his attractive colored eyes, amusement flickering in them. 

“John. Hi,” is all you manage.

“Good to see you again, Y/N. Freddie mentioned you all might be stopping by. Glad you could make it.”

You try and will your new persona not to take hold, but all you can do is smile meekly at him. He regards you patiently, cocking his head to the side slightly.

“Did you enjoy the show?”

“Yes, very much,” you rush out quickly. “I’ve never seen anything quite like that before. The Garden’s not an easy place to play.”

“Thank you. You’re kind," he smiles bashfully. "The crowds in New York are some of my favorites. I wish we got the chance to spend more time here, but it seems we’re always passing through.”

“Am I interrupting?” Freddie asks with raised eyebrows from the doorway, a grin on his face.

John makes his way over to him. “Not at all. Just heroically saving Y/N from a near-death run-in with Ratty.”

“Sounds about right,” Freddie muses. “Now, if we’re all safe and sound, I’d like to get out of here. I’m positively starving.”

“Where to?” John asks.

“I want to go someplace real New Yorkers go,” he looks to you expectantly.

“Bun-bun?” you hear from inside before Steve pokes his head around Fred.

“Is your grandpa working tonight?”

- - - - - - -

Even John knew of Elaine’s. He’d hadn’t heard about it because the notable food, but rather the wide variety of clientele it boasted. Writers, directors, actors, and musicians alike frequently filled the establishment for the ambiance and lively conversation. Freddie would love it.

The large group enters through the wood door under a large awning, immediately hit by a wall of sound. The small place is packed to the brim. Raucous laughter can be heard from most tables as the patrons sardine together, shouting over one another. It had a certain charm, he guessed, taking in the decor of signed book covers and hand-painted murals.

“Bambina!” A small italian-looking maitre d' steps from behind the counter and spreads his arms wide as he engulfs Y/N into a hug. “You didn’t tell me you were stopping by tonight.”

“Sorry, Papa. It was last minute. Just in time for the 10:30 rush by the looks of it.”

An infectiously warm smile spreads across his face. “Do you see me complaining? You hardly visit anymore now that you’re running around the world with that guitar. I’m so proud of you,” he adds softly, kissing her forehead. “Look at these boys!” he greets the rest of The Limbs like family, clapping each man on the back with love. “Am I shrinking already, or are all you still growing?”

“Probably a little of both, Dom,” Eddie laughs with the old man.

“And there’s even more, I see,” he inquires, finally noticing Queen.

It was unusual for them not to be the center of attention in any given situation, all of them hanging back except for Freddie, who marches right up to the man and places a kiss on his cheek.

“Freddie Mercury, a dear friend of your Y/N. It’s a pleasure.”

He looks to Y/N suspiciously. “Are they musicians? You know what happened that one time. I had to pry Elaine off of beating that tiny Mickey guy. I’m telling ya, it was ugly.”

“Not Mickey- Mick, Papa. How many times do I have to tell you?” Y/N shushes him, looking a bit embarrassed.

Dom waves his hand at her, “Whoever he is, that kid owes me his life. I expect these ones to behave.”

Roger snorts from the back, “Not very likely.”

“We promise,” Freddie swears. “And might I say, I love the suit. Very dashing,” he adds on for good measure.

“Well, how else do you think I got this job?” Dom smiles at him with a wink. “C’mon,” he gestures for all to follow as he leads them through the narrow restaurant, to a long table in the back. “Enjoy, boys,” he tells them as he heads back to his post up front, kissing Y/N on the cheek before leaving.

“Come sit next to me, my love,” Freddie calls to Y/N, patting the seat beside him. “If any of your other family members are as outrageous as that man, I want to hear all about them.”

The group moves to squish in around the table. Roger silently catches John’s eye and motions to the seat next to Y/N. He quirks his brows at him, confused, but makes his way to sit between them.

Eddie has taken his rightful place next to Brian with Rich in tow, the three already in deep conversation about the current music scene. Lawrence and Roger sit opposite each other, tearing into the bread basket and chatting about the show. Next to Freddie, Steve is eagerly hanging onto every word he says as he chats to Y/N about her upbringing.

“I’m just hoping one day we get to do something like that, man. Our show on Sunday should be a pretty big deal, though,” Lawrence tells Roger.

“Where are you playing? CBGB? The Palladium?” 

“Nah, we’re playing out on the island. Jones Beach.”

“Huh, Long Island. We’ve never been to Long Island before,” Roger ponders, intrigued. “What’s there to do on Long Island?”

“Well, do you like bowling? Strip malls?” Lawrence pauses for effect. “Bowling at strip malls?”

John lightly chuckles. An arm brushes his shoulder, and he moves back slightly as a large woman weaves her hands around Y/N’s shoulders.

“My little Y/N has come back to us! And surrounded by even more devilishly handsome men than usual.”

Y/N turns around in her seat to give the woman a proper hug. “Elaine! It’s been too long.”

“Let me get a good look at you,” she gestures for Y/N to spin as she regards her. “If you need help beating em’ off of ya, I have my bat behind the counter.”

Y/N rolls her eyes, teasingly, “Don’t I know it. I have a vivid childhood memory of you chasing Ron Galella around the dining room with that thing.”

She lets out a larger than life laugh at the memory, patting the young girl on the back. “Oh, those were the good years. So, aren’t you going to introduce me to your new friends?”

“Elaine! I’m hurt you don’t remember our beautiful time together,” Eddie teases her from the table's end.

“Shut it, Eddie,” she reprimands him with a point of her stubby finger.

Y/N turns to the group, spreading her arms wide. “Guys, this is Elaine Kaufman, of Eliane’s, obviously. Elaine, this is Queen.”

She attempts a half-hearted curtsey. “Your majesties. Welcome.”

Before long, Elaine has pulled up a chair as she cracks dirty jokes back and forth with Freddie, which has the rest of the group (and some nearby diners) howling in laughter. Y/N’s now-familiar cackle sends tingles through John’s body once again. She’s more relaxed than he’s previously seen her be. Her hair is tied back in a ponytail, showcasing her broad smile as she looks on fondly, hands waving about whenever she joins in the conversation. Her face is mostly free of makeup and he catches the hint of a dimple on one of her cheeks as she glances over at him to share in a joke.

Freddie gasps as he catches someone entering the front door. “Is that Shirley MacLaine? Slap my ass and call me Sally, that woman does not age.”

“Come with me,” Elaine says, rising from her chair. “I think she’ll like you.”

Food appears without any of them having to order, along with bottles of wine Elaine insisted they’d love. John tentatively takes a bite of one of the dishes set before him.

“Oh god,” he blurts out upon tasting.

Y/N snickers beside him. “Bad, right? I recommend the tortellini if you want something remotely edible.” She pushes a plate towards him, snagging some for herself.

He gulps down water, trying to rid himself of the bland taste. “I would ask why this place is packed, but it seems I’ve already met her.”

“And you would be right. She’s a riot, but I fully blame her for my vulgar vocabulary,” she reveals, taking a giant bite of pasta.

“You and Freddie seem to have that in common.”

Y/N chews slowly as she muses over that sentiment. “That seems to be the only thing we have in common,” she says softly. He cocks his head at her in question.

“It’s just,” she starts, a somber look replacing her previously buoyant one. “Watching him on stage tonight. All of you actually. You seem so free, so comfortable up there. And Freddie is just magnetic, you know that. It’s as if he makes the crowd fall in love with him again and again with every song. I could never do that…”

“I find that quite hard to believe,” he mumbles, continuing on quickly. “Freddie’s a performer. Everything he does up there is for that crowd. Whereas I’m just a musician, I think. It probably helps that I don’t sing. It'll just take some time to find your footing. You don’t have to be both. You don't have to be either for that matter.”

She scoffs lightly, pushing the food around on her plate. “Don’t I? Ever since this all began, I feel like I’m some paper doll or something. People just dress me up and mold me into what they want. And I go right along with it because I don’t even recognize this version of myself if I’m being honest. So I just keep that mask on until I get back home and I can finally breathe. Because then, at least I don’t have to stare at a stranger in the mirror anymore.” 

She breaks out of the daze she fell into while rambling. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t unload on you like this,” she catches herself. “I guess I just had a very different assumption of what my life would look like... I think I'm afraid of losing who I am in all this."

John takes her in, catching glimpses of his former self in her cracks. He itches to soothe her distress. “I can understand,” he tells her sympathetically. “Hell, I thought I was joining a band to play with on the side at uni and look at us now. Sometimes I still feel like I’m leading a double life. I tried to convince myself all this was just a job at first, but I’m sure you’re finding out quickly that’s not always true.”

Y/N looks at him intently, and it’s the first time he truly sees the depth of her eyes. He clears his throat before continuing.

“I've come to learn that the concept of home is a funny thing. For a long time, I held onto the idea of it that I always had for myself, but it’s harder than it looks with what we do,” he sighs, running a hand through his short curls, not wanting to dwell too long on his unpleasent situation back in England. 

“But home can be anything really. It can be people,” he says, glancing at his bandmates. “Or even the stage, which sometimes I think is Freddie’s. Or you can be Roger, and make yourself at home wherever you go.”

They glance over at Rog, who is in the middle of an animated story, waving his glass of wine around as it drips on the tablecloth.

“So all you can do is find whatever that home is and hold onto it the best you can. And it might change, but that doesn't mean you have to," he nudges her shoulder with his.

Y/N smiles down at her lap. “Thank you,” she tells him quietly, still swimming in her own thoughts.

“Of course,” he assures, pausing to breathe- not used to giving long-winded explanations. Nervous that he’s pushed too far, he glances over, catching as her shoulders relax.

The restaurant was mostly cleared out by now, save for a few regulars sitting at the tall wood bar. The staff chats casually amongst themselves as they clean off empty tables for the night. Steve is giving Freddie details of the New York club scene, probably hoping to earn himself an invitation one day. Elaine’s regaling Brian, Eddie, and Rich with a story about two writers and a feud of accused plagiarism. Lawrence and Roger were currently attempting to turn their napkins into amusing hats for each other. John finds himself enjoying the young band's presence, their chaotic energy seeming to match Queen’s dynamic quite well.

The group collectively jumps as the music drastically raises in volume, the intro of Ray Charles’ ‘Hallelujah, I Love Her So’ pouring out.

“Oh god, no,” Y/N groans next to him as the waiters all turn their attention to her. Dom appears beside her with an outstretched hand. “Papa, not now, please.”

“Indulge your grandfather, Y/N,” he winks at her as she reluctantly takes his hand, pulling her to the middle of the room. John’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise as the old man springs to life, twirling his granddaughter around the room with ease. The pure spryness of someone that age was genuinely shocking.

“Oh, this is fabulous!” Freddie laughs as he leans his chin forward on his hands.

And it was. The staff cheers, hinting that this was a familiar routine for them. The rest of The Limbs sing along with the track, watching the two affectionately like old family.

Y/N’s apprehensive look fades away as she gives in to the fun, pure joy flashing across her features as she glides along, following her grandfather in the swing dance rather gracefully. She looks free, John thinks to himself, drinking in the true version of the young woman. She was dazzling as her hair fell messily from her ponytail and her laugh was louder than ever as Dom dips her low to the floor, her body bending with him. If this was home, he could see why she was reluctant to leave it behind.

He’s mesmerized by her every movement. She was still an enigma to him, each detail he pulled from her, just making him hungry for more. 

You shouldn’t. You’re still married. Well, technically. Papers aren’t signed yet.

“Alright, I’m convinced,” Roger shouts at Lawrence. “Looks like we'll have to stop in Long Island.”

- - - - - - -

“Fuck, it’s cold,” Brian announces, burrowing further into his white windbreaker.

The Jones Beach Theater was tucked right up to the shoreline, causing the spray of the Atlantic to chill the air despite the summer heat. John had never seen a venue like it. It’s as if the vast sea acted as an extended backdrop to the stage, reflecting the stars and inky drape of the night.

The crowd didn’t seem to mind at all. They had been brilliant the entire night, singing along to every one of the songs and dancing in full force. It was perfectly clear how proud they were of their hometown heroes.

The Limbs themselves were a sight to behold from the wings of the stage. The energy from the packed seats had bled over, and all 5 members were indeed feeling it. They had been in perfect sync with each other the entire show, and John was certainly amused by their own way of interacting with their audience. It mostly consisted of them hurling humorous insults back and forth to each other in between songs.

Even Y/N seemed to be enjoying herself, despite her confession the other night. She had taken Freddie’s note that he’d given after seeing her dance and was now stepping out from behind the mic stand for her songs. She slinked around the stage effortlessly, interacting with the other members and the crowd, much to their glee.

“Before we say goodnight to you all, we’d like to leave you with a little something,” Rich calls out over the deafening cheers. “A lullaby of sorts from one of our favorites.”

Y/N drags a stool out to the center of the stage as Lawrence begins a somber melody on the keyboard. The audiences erupts in cheers and John recognizes it as a Billy Joel song.

She takes a seat behind the mic as she gazes out over the crowd. The exhilarated face she had been sporting all night was gone, a shade of melancholy in its place now.

Goodnight, my angel, time to close your eyes

And save these questions for another day

I think I know what you’ve been asking me

I think you know what I’ve been trying to say

Her hypnotic voice pierces through the now-silent crowd. The type of voice you immediately feel in your chest, as if it’s personally strumming your heartstrings. No one dares to sing along, afraid they'll miss a moment of her inflection.

I promised I would never leave you

Then you should always know

Wherever you may go, no matter where you are

I never will be far away

The familiar sight of lighters being illuminated flickers through the sea of people before them, casting a hazy glow on the previously faceless patrons. Their peaceful stares fixed on Y/N, entranced as if she was siren of sorts.

Goodnight my angel, now it’s time to dream

And dream how wonderful your life will be

Someday your child may cry, and if you sing this lullaby

Then in your heart, there will always be a part of me

Her voice breaks a bit, giving away the glassiness of her eyes. They’re not fixed on the crowd, but instead on the sky beyond them. John watches the panes of her face intently. She wasn’t singing to them, he realizes. This was to herself. Possibly to that image in her mind, she had confided in him, the one she was struggling to leave behind—her piece of home.

Someday we’ll all be gone

But lullabies go on and on

“She’s going to be something else, isn’t she?” Freddie asks, mostly to himself.

They never die

That’s how you and I will be

John watches as a single tear slips off the slope of her nose as she finishes, bowing her head.

“Yeah, I think she is.”

[lennsart]

Hewo I was wondering what would you think of my ocs ? (Mikana, Sika, Bunny, Anis and Pêche) ? 👀👀

Hi so I think you meant what my OCs think of your OCs (because seriously, if there's only one person on earth who knows what I think about their OCs, IT'S THIS NERD), so let's do that !

Mikana

If we try to merge our timeline together, Xail and Mikana must be around the same age while Plume is an adult. So I think Plume could be that cool friend's mother who decided Mikana belongs to the family ! She would never be shocked to see her around and would enjoy talking to her. Let's be honest, your girl needs validation, and Plume is there to provide.

If Plume is the cool friend's mother, Xail would be the friend ! Given that they are both introverts they'd definitely meet through Roxas or Sora. I feel like Xail might think Mikana is cold at first, unless she cracks a joke, but if they warm up to each other she would like her ! They have the same friends and have similar personalities. Yep, they'd be close friends !

Sika

Oh boy Plume would ADOPT Sika ! Am I biaised because I love your girl ? Yes, but also she is a sunshine girl, and Plume would find her adorable. She'd definitely be invited to every tea parties or cozy events !

I think Xail would like Sika a lot too ! Again, maybe I'm biaised, but Sika seems like she could have a big sis vibe and I would live for this type of relationship between the two 🥺 Plus Xail loves to hear good stories, and Sika must have plenty, and I feel like she'd be a good teller !

Bunny

Let's be honest, you already know, Bunny and Plume were literally in the same party 😆 they'd be best friend ! It's weird because I feel like at first Plume would be the shy friend and Bunny a bit more like the mom friend, but as they grow up Plume would become more extroverted than Bunny. What do you think ?

Also if Bunny knows Plume since her young age, she would have seen Xail grow up. She could literally be a third parental figure, I feel like Xail would consider her like her aunt. She's part of the family and that's final !

Anis

I feel like Anis would be that crazy friend who always scare Plume, like doN'T TRY TO SKATE ON THE STAIRS WHAT THE HELL ANIS — this type of interactions 🤣 ooor he would drag her in his crazy scheme, in front of Bunny's disbelieved eyes... I think they'd know each other through Bunny and Plume would always be pleased to see him, but maybe they'll be a little less close ?

To Xail, he'd be that cool uncle you see in family meals who always have good stories to tell. She'd find him fun !

Pêche

Oh my, both of my girls would be confused with Pêche. They'd want to help them ? But also, what if they are bothering ? Plume would probably try to make them feel validated, and always make herself available to talk (or for a hug if needed) !

Xail would do her best to include Pêche without sounding pushy. I actually think they could become friends ! They both know Vanitas, and I definitely see them being the type of friends who peel and share an orange with each-other without talking 😂

I hope you liked my analysis ! It was... Longer than I expected, I think I'm at it since half-an-hour lmao. But that was really fun 😄

[upa-chatta]

It was the middle of the afternoon, Kokichi sat at the living room table as Himiko was laid out on the floor, putting puzzle pieces together in different piles. Kokichi sighed as he rested his cheek on the table facing his head towards Himiko.

"Himiko.. I'm bored.." Himiko ignored him, as she was trying to organize the puzzle pieces and not lose count.

Kokichi didn't like the idea of being ignored, especially if it was from his girlfriend. He sat up and yawned obnoxiously as he rested his chin on his palm. "I wish there was something fun to do.."

Himiko continued her work, not paying Kokichi any attention. 

Already upset, Kokichi pouted his lips out at her, "Uuuugh! Himiko! Pay some attention to me already!” Himiko looked up at him, her expression unfazed.

“I thought.. You loved my Himi..” He said fake wet tears pricked the corner of his eyes.

“I do..,” She paused trying to find her place in counting. “But can’t you see I’m busy right now?” Kokichi sucked his teeth, pouting as he turned away from her. Himiko stole a quick glance at him before shifting her eyes back down at the puzzle.

“Come here Kichi, it’d be faster if you helped me.” Kokichi turned his head slightly to her.

“Why are you doing that stupid puzzle anyways? It’s so boooring..”

“Because Tenko bought it.. For the house.. And we never touched it.”

“Oh yeah, I guess you mine as well through it away or something and focus on doing something much more fun. Like me~!”

“Ooor, you could come over here and help me. It’ll be some nice bonding time with you and me,” She said smiling up at him. It wasn’t just any sweet smile, it was the way she was smiling that always seemed to sway Kokichi’s heart. How could he say no to her when she’s smiling up at him like that? He hates the damned smile.

“Come on Kichi. Come oooon.” Kokichi quickly turned his head in order to not fall victim to her powerful “Precious Smiling Magic.” She grabbed his hand and gently pulled down on it.

“Please Kichi? Pretty please? Didn’t you want my attention? I want your attention too! Pretty please!” She caught him off guard, just for a moment. But it was enough time for him to look at her eyes and see that they were big and round, she was giving him the big puppy dog eyes. It was time for her to finish him off, she placed one of her most powerful spells on him. 

A soft passionate kiss on the lips. It wasn’t too quick, but it didn’t last that long either. It was enough for him to want more of these magical kisses. He leaned back in for another and she quickly placed a finger upon his lips, “Ah, ah, You’ll get all the kisses you want. Once you help me with this puzzle.” He knew this is where it was all coming to. He felt like a sucker whenever she used her lethal magic on him, but in the end, it’d be all worth it.

“Okay fine, fine! But after this, you and me. Got it?” She couldn’t help giggling at him as she nodded.

“Mhm, Okay. Mage’s promise,” She said holding up her pinkie finger at him, he latched on with his own pinkie finger.

“Mage’s promise.” 

Read more here

This story is for the Himikichi Harmony event, an Oumeno Weekend event that is hosted by @himikichi-harmony

The prompt for August 10th was Surprise/Hurting/Sleepover/and Free day. I chose free day. Hope you enjoy! ^-^

This was a great Oumeno weekend and I'm glad I was able to be apart of it! Thank you!😊

[serenityinself]

9,30,43,88,91,92,97,98,100

9. Any turn ons? 

Good communication, self-awareness, someone who is goofy, lifts others up, goes to therapy, is into Human Rights, and like just has that warm glow that good people tend to have. Also I have thing for like when someone I’m attracted to bites their lip, or kisses my neck, or whispers in my ear, buuuuut I’ma keep this PG lmao 😆

30. Do you respond to texts quickly?

Honestly, it really depends. If someone needs me, I’m dating them, they’re a family member, or close friend, I tend to respond quicker. Some parts of my day get hella hectic and I can suck at responding at times. Also between work email, personal email, school email, and the different apps I need to use to talk to people back home, Int’l friends, and for the orgs I work with, it gets crazy keeping up 😬

43. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?

Y’all are gonna clown me but - it is titled “ NYasin Resume Biden Harris Admin 10.2020.pdf” I applied for a few different departments in the Biden-Harris Administration, soo I had downloaded my updated Resume lmao 😂

88. Favorite genre of music?

That’s rough. I listen to everything from Hip-Hop, Country, Rock, Pop, to Afghan folk music, Reggaetón, Bollywood music, etc. I would say if I absolutely had to choose, Hip-hop would take 1st place.

91. Describe the world in 4 words.

Magical, Hopeful, Hectic, Complicated

92. Craziest thing you’ve ever done?

You’re gonna have to be more specific. Like are we talking when I almost was killed going back to the Homeland? Or like when I dated someone whose family members were Tr*mp supporters? Or when I decided to put together an event about “Pushing Back Against Privilege in Law School” at my law school? Cause ya girl can be bold 🥴🤷🏻‍♀️

97. What personality trait do you admire in other people?

Honesty, loyalty, and a willingness to learn. I’m not into staying in one place or being stagnant, so I love someone who wants to grow and continue to learn. Like I accept on the daily that I don’t know a ton of things and that I can always be humbled and learn something from someone, and I love people with that same open-mindedness 🙌🏽

98. When you imagine yourself as really, really relaxed and happy, what are you doing?

So my main scenarios are: 1) Traveling the World (my favorite preCOVID passtime), 2) Community organizing/volunteering, 3) Hanging out and having a good laugh with loved ones.

100. What is the best news you could hear right now?

That I either got my PostBAR at the Attorney General’s Office, at the Public Defender’s Office, ooor a spot in the Biden-Harris Admin 😅

[sojourntime-aux]

Day 7 (August 8th): Summer’s End – With summer coming to a swift end, what does your OC do to enjoy it? What do they wear? Any special activities?

End of the week! I had a lot of fun writing and doing art, and sharing these five keykids. I'm super excited to do this again next year! I do have 56 other keykids I could do this with, and few other ocs for good measure. Thank you guys for organizing this event! It's been a great week working on all this stuff, and seeing everyone else's writing and art. Just so much love and positivity! I loved it! Thank you guys 💕 I also played around with todays prompt, but anyway, here's, Day 7! @khoc-week

> warning for implied character death

-----

The field of grass swayed around the three friends as they laid back. They had all finished their missions early, and had hiked up to the field on the clifftops to rest. They were waiting on their final companion to join them, but he hadn't been seen since this morning.

"Guys! Hey, check it!" Suddenly a shout just beyond the hill crest made Kathrynn and Tabby sit up. Tabitha only turn her head and opened her eyes.

"Tagen? What's up?" Kathrynn called, concerned. "What do you have there?"

Tagen stopped infront front of Tabitha's head, putting his hands on his knees, panting.

"Did you run all the way here from town?" Tabitha asked, picking herself up on the grass to make sure Tagen was okay.

"Yeah, but I'm fine! If I didn't these wouldn't have made it here." He stood up again, holding up four icecream bars. "I waited in line all day at the moogle shop for these, apperently they're really popular. Figured I would get us some."

"Are these the sea salt icecream things?" Tabby asked, giving Kathrynn and Tabitha an unsure look.

"Yeah, why?"

"Wait.. sea salt? Wouldn't it just be better to drink some ocean water?" Tabitha ask, sitting up all the way, looking very confused.

"Ooor maybe lick a seashell?" Kathrynn added, only half joking.

"Why not eating a small mouth full of sand...?" Tabby gave an unsure shrug.

"GUUUYS! These were some of the last bars! And you all aren't even going to try it?" Tagen huffed, sitting down beside Tabby. "Fine. More for me then." He said, before opening one and biting the corner off the top. Tabby, Kathrynn and Tabitha watched to see Tagen's reaction, only for him to scrunch his nose.

"Blehg... Okay.." Tagen flopped back into grass, holding the bar up in the air. "You guys were right.. like drinking... Well eating sweet sea water... Aaaah I so over payed that damn moogle!!"

Tabby looked back at the two girls, before reaching down and grabbing a bar for himself. He opened it up and bit down much like Tagen had, with much the same reaction.

"Tabby, hand one to me, and the other for Tabitha." Kathrynn piped up, and Tabby helped pass the icecream down.

"Wait guys what are you doing?" Tagen picked himself up on his arms, watching the other bite into the icecream.

"You went through the trouble go get this for us." Tabby said.

"So we'll suffer together." Kathrynn gave him a smile, before taking a bite of her bar, and Tabitha raised hers in agreement. Tagen laid back again, and raised his bar back up, just before taking another bite.

"Thanks guys. Yeah.. here's to suffering together."

-ERROR-

Trudging down the alleyway, the girl looked around at her surroundings, looking for land marks to guide her. This part of Daybreak Town she wasn't all that familar with, so anything she could use not to get lost was a blessing. It wasn't long before she found the staircase leading down into the waterways she wanted. Stopping at the door, she paused, looking back at the sky one last time, before calling her Keyblade, and pushing her way inside.

The inside was even more confusing than the outside, looking the same at every staircase and turn. This time however, she knew how far to go. Her feet carrying her ever forward, against her better judgement, Keyblade feeling warm in her hands. It wasn't long before she reached a turn off, a dead end part of the waterway, cut off by a grate at one end where water spilled into the ocean. She squinted her eyes against the sudden change in light, the waterway before her being backlit. This was where she stopped.

"You came back."

She blinked to eyes against the light, waiting for her eyes to adjust so she could look at the creature who was speaking. She pointed her keyblade out in front of her with on hand, threatening the creature to come any closer.

"I- yes. But.. how do I know I can trust you?" The creature let out a small cackle, that echoed around the waterway and sent warning signals up the girls spine.

"Trust me? Was this really about trust? You have no idea if you can trust what I saw, but I can give you what you really want." There was a pause. "But you knew all this, so why are you asking now? Why come back just to waste time with pointless questions?"

The girl brought her other hand to rest securely on her keyblade.

"I haven't quite made up... my mind.." She stammered out, taking her eyes off her target for a moment to look at her surroundings.

Up in the arching support beams of the waterway, the shadows just dark enough to be to clear to see, she could see at least a dozen or so pairs of yellow eyes now. They were larger than a normal shadow's, and staring at her, as if waiting for something. She could feel they had her closed in and surrounded.

Still she stood her ground, holding fast to the keyblade in her hand, which must have been growing hot under the warm light coming in the grate.

"Haven't quite made up your mind? That's interesting. Either you did come here to waste time, or.." the creature turned it's back to her, and started to walk away. "Something else brought you here. And from I can see, you don't need your mind made up-"

All she caught was the glint of the creatures red eyes as it turned to look back at her, over the thundering footsteps and chatter now closing in all around. Her keyblade almost too hot to touch, making her grip onto tighter burning her hands as she turned to face the hoard of human like winged heartless.

"Because your heart is already sure~!"

[crystalized-dreams]

Will you ever upload more abyssrium or word villas or some other mobile games?

In general, mobile games are really tricky to record. I used to have a fairly decent program I used-- Side Sync, but it’s been discontinued and is now broken. I can still kind of use it (as I did with my recent Pocket Camp video and the STYLIT video), but it’s a huge pain and skews the video entirely as essentially the vertical game is being shown squished into a horizontal perspective. There is no fix. 

I haven’t found a program that works for my needs. The closest I can find either have a monthly fee (I don’t mind buying something once, but I don’t use things enough to justify a monthly fee), some kind of recording mark over the video and/or will record sound through the microphone. I actually generally play mobile games muted and live in a very loud house so that helps no one. Or they aren’t for screen sharing at all and are really just to get your emails/alerts which I don’t need.

And Samsung Flow, Side Sync’s replacement, is honestly terrible. I can’t get it to work. 

While I could consider an emulator, the issue there is not all games properly carry over progress and my computer is slowly having more issues and just can’t always run them. I do try to use an Emulator for games where I know I will play for a long time, but it can be pretty glitchy (Using Choices and Hogwarts Mystery as examples, my progress isn’t always properly saved and sometimes I have to redo things on my phone after). 

As for the games you specifically asked about, being completely honest, I don’t think I’d be uploading more of Abyssrium or Word Villas regardless as, to put it nicely, both have became a bit too greedy for me. 

Before I go into it, I want to say I never have an issue with putting money into a game I enjoy. I’ve spent a lot on Abyssrium and a fair amount on Word Villas. But I have very little patience with subscriptions for one and I just... haven’t enjoyed a lot of choices either game has made recently (of the two, despite playing Abyssrium longer, I think Word Villas has made me more upset about the direction they’ve gone). 

This will also get quite long, so....

My first worry with Abyssrium came with the pearls. I dislike second currencies and we already had some expensive things (they had a Mermaid for $100 for crying out loud, but they at least seemed to be slowing down with that). Next were some of the event features... like the 150 gift boxes for an event fish. That is A LOT of constantly logging in and I am very much a “let be just be done ASAP and be good” person (I’ll be talking about this more in an upcoming entry) so the added walls were another thing really making me kind of anxious about Abyssrium.

Then they added subscriptions. No ads (which with the amount of their stupid events that required you to watch ads now was HUGE to save time) and the adorable Puffin taunted me, as I had every other fish up to this point. I couldn’t justify $7 a week for that though so I only ever temporarily did the subscription whenever an event happened.

And thus our problem-- we started getting monthly events. Which included a $10-$20 exclusive new species (and sometimes even a second one for you to spend even more money on). And also new dailies which removed more accessible pearl getting, but also were another layer to these events as every single one would have a whole second set of objectives with one that required you to complete 3 Dailies in a row. 

I rarely did the dailies, partially due to my burnt out issues when it comes to monotonous tasks, but also because I find tapping incredibly painful. So I was killing my wrist every single event. And that adds up fast.

It was just too much to keep track of. And then they added in a gacha system too that cost event currency or materials and it just... it was too much. This was too much every month and like why I dropped Pocket Camp (and now only really check in for the special gifts), I just couldn’t take a chance to breathe. 

Adding in Abyssrium Pole just made it worse which continued some of the worst parts of the original while also making things even slower at times and it’s a shame as there’s some really neat things they did with it, but it was just annoying. 

This doesn’t even go into all the other little intricacies I had with some events (Like having to create more than one of each or remake ones I already had because of some objective), but it was just exhausting. 

----

As for Word Villas... Just... ugh, I think what really breaks my heart with this is I LOVE decorating games, but I HATE Match Three′s with a passion so this was so much more my speed and they just had to ruin it. I don’t know if I’ll ever find a replacement either because for some reason every single time someone makes a decoration-based game, they have Match Three firmly printed on their forehead. 

I’m going to bullet-print this one because none of it really requires the long description as Abyssrium did for the most part, but it’s just a lot of frustrations and the fact that they just didn’t seem to care about their fans up to this point.

Constant events. Some people hated these events as they just wanted more rooms, but I actually really enjoyed them! The issue mainly came as they were just, like Abyssrium’s issue, happening constantly. I would’ve been fine with a break of no updates, but it was getting a bit exhausting to constantly be doing event stuff... Especially as the events generally required 60 levels minimum to get everything (Some only required 40 but it was still a lot) and it was just tiring to power through so many due to the limited time.

Similarly, there was a glitch with the Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year event and not everyone even got the photo, yet they were never able to fix this. 

We also started getting Competitive Events which nobody really seemed to want? Myself included. The game was a solo game. This was entirely pointless and making some items only available to the person in first was super scummy, especially when some people were already out of levels and thus, couldn’t keep going for that #1 spot in the first place. 

The Blossom Problem - Blossoms are no longer even in the game, having been replaced by Blue tickets which you can only get randomly through certain things ooor by buying them with a premium currency that you can only get with real money... yet these are now used to get things the blossoms were-- Collectibles that can be used as decorations in various house areas. Some people had over 50,000 blossoms built up only for them to be dumped. They kept asking for more things to be used on. Blossoms were only gotten for hitting certain combo streaks and while not having the combo streak pressure is nice, it’s still a huge slap in the face to long-term players who saved up. 

The writing is kind of spotty. In all honesty, I glance over this a lot as I like the characters quite a bit, but anytime the main character talks with her best friend about dieting and not wanting to get fat when they’re super thin, I just cringe. The dialogue is unneeded. It’s a game for crying out loud. And honestly, proof reading is needed. 

They did recently let use customize the MC’s appearance to an extent, but we still can’t change her eye color or skin color and hairstyles are set to whatever color they are. But we can’t adjust her sleepwear appearance... 

The Premium Currency - There’s just... no ways to get this in-game (or if there are, I have not found them and it’s definitely not much) and yet they keep adding more things that require them. 

New Visual Novel feature? Every choice that is somewhat romantic or just not being awful requires it. And this is a shame as I’d genuinely love to read some. 

Furniture options you like? Might require it. (Heck, the only other option in the current “limited” boardwalk decorating does each time). 

Certain customization options? Require it. 

As a note, I’m not even necessarily against premium currencies as long as the prices are fair and it’s possible to earn in-game too, but otherwise when your game has a huge focus on customization and/or collecting, it’s essentially pay to win and that’s a problem. 

My biggest issue as we get more and more currencies though is the main one often ends up taking a backseat because of it. 

As I mentioned above with Abyssrium, I have no issue purchasing games, but I think having to repeatedly pay to remove ads is super dumb and getting ads between rounds is so annoying, but I don’t always play enough to justify paying every month to remove ads. I also just find it kind of distasteful. 

The upped star costs. I get that I’m pretty far in, but needing 3 minimum to 4 or 5 Stars at a time now to do things is honestly just kind of boring. I liked to do bursts of levels than story, but now I just have to do too many levels to do that and I can’t switch off enough to keep myself from getting burnt out. 

The stupid mission pass thing. Let. People. Play. At. Their. Own. Pace. And don’t prevent rewards just because people won’t pay for the premium version... there shouldn’t even be two versions. 

Too grindy. Too many levels needed for so many things (events, the stupid competitive stuff, etc.) and it’s just exhausting. 

The constant events also really did just end up burning me out in and off itself and then running out of my “no ads” time period due to how little I’m playing just gets me more discouraged. I used to be up to date, but I’ve been behind due to the larger costs and lack of time (and then the ad issue and ugh). I can’t even bother with most of their events lately as it just isn’t fun.